NCM Associates launches NCM Institute with 12 all-new educational programs for automotive retail dealerships, Paul Faletti, NCM CEO and President announced today. NCMi establishes a Center for Automotive Retail Excellence to help automotive retail dealers achieve greater profitability during difficult market conditions, while preparing them to capitalize on the economic recovery to come.

Overland Park, Kansas (PRWEB) January 28, 2010 — NCM Associates (http://www.ncm20.com) announces the launch of NCM Institute (http://www.ncminstitute.com) (NCMi) Center for Automotive Retail Excellence. The NCMi curriculum includes introductory and advanced courses in Used Vehicle Management, General Management, Service Management, Sales Management, Financial Management and eCommerce Management. Each course delivers in-depth, real world management and leadership best practices at a level best suited to the student’s needs. Designed for automotive dealership principals and key managers, NCMi classes are conducted by a team of seasoned industry veterans four times per year at NCM’s training facility in Overland Park, Kansas. On-site, in-dealership delivery is also available.

“NCM Institute represents the finest, most comprehensive dealership training curriculum ever offered by NCM,” said NCM Associates CEO and President, Paul A. Faletti, Jr. “Our program is based on over 60 years of proven best practices in automotive retail management, leadership and operational excellence, and the NCMi faculty represents the best-of-the-best in this industry.” Faletti added, “The events of 2009 are a real and stark reminder of just how ‘normal’ business conditions can virtually evaporate and force the market into truly new and unchartered territory. The NCMi Center for Automotive Retail Excellence is a timely response to the changing marketplace and will ensure our dealers are adequately prepared as business conditions evolve.”

Unparalleled continuing education is a new feature of the NCMi program. Upon successful completion of the coursework, students will earn placement in an NCM Manager 20 Group at no charge for six months. NCM clients enjoy substantial tuition discounts and for a limited time, NCM is offering all dealers an introductory $250 tuition discount on February and March classes. Dealership Principals or General Managers may attend most classes free with a paid registration.

Classes begin in February with Principles of Used Vehicle Management I conducted February 1-3, followed by Principles of Used Vehicle Management II conducted February 3-5. Courses in General Management, Service Management and Financial Management are also being conducted in February.

About NCM Associates, Inc.

NCM Associates, Inc. is the originator of the automotive industry 20 Group peer collaboration process and has been providing dealership benchmarking, education and consulting services to the industry since 1947. Located in Overland Park, KS, NCM provides a robust suite of services designed to drive dealership profitability using its proven, operations-focused Benchmark® for Success program with new and pre-owned U.S. automotive dealerships, as well as with dealerships in more than 20 other industries. For more information about NCM Associates, visit www.ncm20.com or call 800.756.2620.

Year-round snowmobile drag strip opens in Michigan using time-tested 4-lane drag system

Santa Clara, CA (PRWEB) January 28, 2010 — RaceAmerica is proud to announce that Infinity Raceway’s year-round snowmobile drag strip successfully launched this past weekend using RaceAmerica’s state of the art XL S4 professional 4-lane drag system.

Kirt and April Helsel, owners of Infinity Raceway, began building the track in 2009 after consulting expert snowmobile racers from Ontario, New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The couple is hoping to provide the local area with some much needed economic stimulus as well as the sheer excitement of 4-lane drag racing.

The well thought out facility provides a 500 foot drag strip with over 1,700 feet of “shut down area”. The track utilizes a computerized RaceAmerica 4-lane drag timing system. The XL Professional S4 drag timing system was chosen for its rich array of features including two fully synchronized drag race trees, elapsed time (ET) and reaction time(RT) readings as well as speed and 60 foot times. The system is run using RaceAmerica’s XLScore S4 PC software to control all aspects of the timing system and to provide diagnostics and live testing of vital system components.

Infinity Raceway chose to install the optional RaceAmerica wireless LED finishing order scoreboard and wireless printer with their 4-lane system. Spectators and team members can view finishing order results by checking the scoreboard or by viewing the lighting order on the two start trees.

The importance of communicating with the two start trees simultaneously was key in developing a functional 4-lane system. A single tree does not provide all racers with same opportunity to see their starting signals.

“To be done correctly a 4-lane system needs two start trees so racers are fairly positioned in reference to the starting lights. In order to solve the problem of synchronizing the two start trees we looked to wireless communications for the solution. In fact, the S4 was the first system to utilize our exclusive wireless drag race communication devices. The system communicates via a wireless connection from the timing boxes to the tower eliminating wires in a vital area for snowmobile racing while ensuring accurate and dependable communications between all four lanes. The system also wirelessly communicates with our LED scoreboards and printers providing flexibility and time savings for track owners.” said Dennis Laczny, RaceAmerica President.

The S4 professional 4-lane drag system was first introduced to the market in 2001. The proven system has made RaceAmerica the largest supplier of professional 4-lane drag systems in the world.

“We wanted a system that was proven, reliable and easy to use.” said Kirt Helsel, owner of Infinity Raceway. “The features on the RaceAmerica 4-lane system provides us with everything we need, and more, to run a professional event. Our over 250 racers in attendance for our inaugural event loved the system.”

To see exciting four-lane drag racing action in person you can visit Infinity Raceway located just west of US-131, at 3357 Doerr Rd, in Mancelona, Michigan. There is a full schedule of racing planned for this season. Call 231-313-1238 or check out check out their website at www.infinityraceway.com for more details.

The XL Professional S4 is designed for 4-lane Ice and Grass Snowmobile Drag Racing events offering Pro and Full (Sportsman) starting lights formats. The XL Professional S4 is also available in a 2-lane package expandable to the 4-lane configuration. Fewer track cables are achieved through the implementation of a Wireless Data Comm Link between the tower and the track. PC software is included to control and configure the timing system. The software displays race results and finish order, shows optical sensor alignment so the race manager can spot if a sensor has been knocked out of position down track and monitors the status of the wireless connections to the printer and scoreboards. Finishing order is also displayed on both trees after each race. At the end of the race, the starting tree lights in the winner’s lane will have the green light illuminated, the 2nd place lane will have a green and one yellow light on, third place a green and two yellows and fourth a green and 3 yellows.

For more details about RaceAmerica equipment please visit www.RaceAmerica.com or contact RaceAmerica at (408) 988-6188. For information regarding this release contact:

Jim Viola

Marketing and Public Relations

RaceAmerica Corporation

(408) 988-6188

About RaceAmerica

Founded in 1991, RaceAmerica is the industry leader in advanced event critical timing electronics. The Company designs and manufactures a complete line of portable timing systems, software, and LED-based scoreboards and displays for use in both single and multi-lane snowmobile, autocross, mud bog, soap box derby, ATV, and drag racing. The company also provides a variety of customized solutions for private, commercial, and industrial applications. RaceAmerica is recognized worldwide for their reliability, speed, and accuracy. The Company produced the world’s only state-of-the-art, fully wireless drag racing timing system and continues to innovate with flexibility to match unique customer needs. RaceAmerica supports the thousands of systems that it has operating in over 40 countries with unrivaled customer and technical assistance. Learn more about RaceAmerica at www.RaceAmerica.com.

MotorcycleAds.com, the online motorcycle classifieds powered by RacingJunk.com, will be promoted full throttle at the Powersports Dealer Expo, February 13-15 in Indianapolis.

North Adams, MA (PRWEB) January 26, 2010 — MotorcycleAds.com, the online motorcycle classifieds powered by RacingJunk.com, will be promoted full throttle to powersports dealers at the upcoming Dealernews International Powersports Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, February 13-15.

Team RacingJunk will promote the MotorcycleAds.com powersports classifieds at Booth #3657 at the Indiana Convention Center during the Dealer Expo. Show visitors who stop by the MotorcycleAds.com booth can enter a drawing to win a Snap-on Tool Prize Package valued at over $125.

Powersports industry dealers can learn how to make the most of MotorcycleAds.com to reach the 2.8 million performance enthusiasts who visit the RacingJunk.com and MotorcycleAds.com sites each month, which together receive over 70 million page views. MotorcycleAds.com includes ad categories for motorcycles (including racing and custom motorcycles, as well as street and choppers), ATVs, dirt and off-road bikes, snowmobiles, towing/trailers and more. The site can be accessed at http://www.motorcycleads.com.

MotorcycleAds.com provides powersports industry dealers an effective way to reach their target consumer, whether they’re looking to sell direct or build their brand within this unique market segment. Specialized advertising solutions include classified listing packages, banner advertising campaigns, brand building promotions and email and newsletter messaging. The MotorcycleAds.com sales team will provide powersports industry dealers more information about these and other marketing opportunities at their Dealer Expo booth (#3657).

MotorcycleAds.com is powered by RacingJunk.com (http://www.racingjunk.com), the largest and fastest growing online classifieds site for motorsports. The RacingJunk.com network has over 435,000 registered members and hosts over 800,000 unique visitors daily.

About Raceway Media, LLC

Raceway Media, LLC is a multimedia publishing firm serving the racing and performance enthusiast industries. Their flagship property, RacingJunk.com, is a free “one-stop shop” for those looking to buy, sell, trade, entertain or interact with people throughout the automotive and motorcycle racing and performance communities.

The company’s holdings include RacingJunk.com, MotorcycleAds.com, RJRaceSpace.com, CollectorCarNation.com, BoatAds.com and MuscleCarJunk.com.

Beaudry RV Company is focused on the positive changes in the RV Industry

Tucson, AZ (Vocus) January 26, 2010 — With the Centennial year for the RV (http://rvsales.beaudryrv.com/inventory.asp) industry beginning, Beaudry RV Company (http://www.beaudryrv.com/) has high hopes for the coming months. Baby boomers and the younger generation are showing renewed interest in RV travel as reflected at the North Carolina RV & Camping Show where vendors reported an increase in units sold over last year.

South Dakota finished 2009 with a 10% increase in camping across the state. Other states such as Texas have also reported increased numbers or RVers looking to winter in campgrounds.

GoRving recently appointed Bob Olson of Winnebago as co-chair alongside Tom Stinnett. Olson brings over 40 years experience with the RV industry and expectations are that he will increase visibility of the RV industry.

“With so many encouraging indicators of the year to come, we have no doubt the recession is fading and we’ll see another year of sales growth,” says Thom Sylvester, CEO of Beaudry RV Company.

For more information on Beaudry RV Company or current trends in the industry contact Thom Sylvester at info (at) beaudryrv (dot) com or by phone at: 520-239-5054 or visit Beaudry RV Company online at www.beaudryrv.com.

Beaudry RV is excited to announce enhancements to the 2nd Annual Western RV Show and Sale (http://www.beaudryrv.com/events.html), which begins this week. These enhancements are in direct response to customer requests in an effort to make this event the best opportunity for making a decision to purchase the right RV for their lifestyle! Consumers have asked for more dynamic, hard-hitting, relevant information about RV features and benefits.

Tucson, AZ (Vocus) January 26, 2010 – Beaudry RV is excited to announce enhancements to the 2nd Annual Western RV Show and Sale (http://www.beaudryrv.com/events.html), which begins this week. These enhancements are in direct response to customer requests in an effort to make this event the best opportunity for making a decision to purchase the right RV for their lifestyle! Consumers have asked for more dynamic, hard-hitting, relevant information about RV features and benefits.

CEO Thom Sylvester said “Our Southern Arizona residents; both Full-time and Seasonal, are looking for more buying information. In the calls we receive and the visitors to our two dealerships in Tucson and Chandler, customers are constantly looking for more critical information that enables them to purchase the right product, at the right price. In addition, customers are focused on affordability, product performance, manufacturer viability and serviceability. All of these important questions will be answered by experts from our manufacturing partners and Beaudry RV (http://www.beaudryrv.com) team members.”

Beaudry RV (http://www.beaudryrv.com) along with our featured manufacturing partners Forest River and Monaco will be hosting 30-minute sessions with follow-up Q&A, in a hands-on engaging setting. “It is important that our customers have adequate information before considering a major purchase in the RV lifestyle. We intend to provide the right product, at the right price, backed by our extraordinary service capabilities,” states Beaudry RV’s Vice President of Operations, Dundee Kelbel.

Q&A Sessions: January 29-31, 2010 and February 4-6, 2010

Times: 11a – 3p – 30 minute session, every 45 minutes

Where: Beaudry RV – 3200 E. Irvington Rd, Tucson, AZ 85714

Cost: FREE ADMISSION, FREE PARKING

What: Q and A session, new product features, and hands-on walk through. Detailed schedules to be provided at the gate and the BeaudryRV.com website.

About Beaudry RV:

Established in 1972, the Beaudry RV tradition began with the simple philosophy of offering new and used RV (http://rvsales.beaudryrv.com/inventory.asp) buyers the best products available with excellent customer service. Since its start in an old converted Gulf Oil service station, Beaudry RV has grown to become one of the largest and most successful RV dealers in the nation. Today, Beaudry RV operates sales and service in two locations in Arizona, Tucson and Chandler, as well as an RV Resort and state-of-the-art RV Collision Center in Tucson.

StreetSide Auto, a purveyor of performance auto parts and truck accessories, recently expanded its collection of winches and added Superwinch® to its featured manufacturers.

(PRWEB) January 27, 2010 — Spring is a few months away and every off-roading enthusiast knows what that means – mudding, dune bashing, rock crawling, and more. To meet the growing demand for more off-road accessories, StreetSide Auto, a purveyor of performance auto parts (http://www.streeetsideauto.com/) and truck accessories (http://www.streeetsideauto.com/), recently expanded its collection of winches and added Superwinch® to its featured manufacturers.

“Off-road thrill seekers who are prepping their cars for the muddy spring months should explore our winches,” says Jon Wyly, the Vice President of Marketing at StreetSide Auto. “You should never go off-roading without one; it protects the vehicle from damage and allows for speedy recovery if you get stuck,” he says. “If you’re going to partake in off-road adventures, have the tools necessary to ensure safety first –then go wild!” he relays.

StreetSide carries a large line of winches and winch accessories. They recently added Superwinch (http://www.streetsideauto.com/brands/superwinch/winches.asp), a premier winches dealer, to their Featured Manufacturer’s list. “Superwinch winches are well known in the industry and the company has been making them since 1970,” says Wyly. “We’re excited to offer a diverse selection of winches from the line, including some of their most popular products,” he adds.

In addition to its Superwinch selection, StreetSide Auto also carries winches in other leading brands including Mile Marker and Warn. StreetSide Auto continues to build their site with quality performance auto parts and looks forward to another great year in the automotive industry.

Learn more about Superwinch here: http://www.streetsideauto.com/brands/superwinch/winches.asp

About StreetSide Auto: StreetSideAuto.com (http://www.streetsideauto.com/) is a 30-year-old company, dedicated to the automotive enthusiast, with direct access to the largest selection of in-stock performance parts and accessories for most cars, trucks, Jeeps and SUVs from over 900 brand name vendors. StreetSide only sells in-stock items and never charges handling fees. Their expert staff and management teams represent years of experience in the specialty automotive aftermarket.

FinditParts, the first ecommerce portal for heavy, medium and light duty parts for trucks, buses, trailers and more, was in high demand at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2010 in Las Vegas. “We are delighted and honored by the enthusiastic response of the visitors to our booth,” said David Seewack from the FinditParts team. “Distributors were thrilled to discover a new channel for their parts inventory, and we heard from many manufacturers as well who had been searching for a viable online solution to market their parts to a global audience.” The result of 30 years experience in the truck parts business, a dedication to cutting-edge technology and two years of research and design, the finditparts.com site allows customers global access to more than one million part numbers from every major manufacturer.

Los Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) January 27, 2010 — FinditParts, the first ecommerce portal for heavy, medium and light duty parts for trucks, buses, trailers and more, was in high demand at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2010 in Las Vegas.

“We are delighted and honored by the enthusiastic response of the visitors to our booth,” said David Seewack from the FinditParts team. “Distributors were thrilled to discover a new channel for their parts inventory, and we heard from many manufacturers as well who had been searching for a viable online solution to market their parts to a global audience.”

The result of 30 years experience in the truck parts business, a dedication to cutting-edge technology and two years of research and design, the finditparts.com site allows customers global access to more than one million part numbers from every major manufacturer, including Arvin Meritor, Bendix, Grote, Haldex, Brake Parts Inc, Federal Mogul, Baldwin, Phillips, Freightliner, Mack, Peterbilt, Ford, Navistar and Caterpillar. The list of companies grows every day.

FinditParts has developed and engineered its website to ensure that major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo will find the parts that customers search, often within the first page of returned results.

During the company’s first HDAW appearance, the FinditParts booth was frequently swarmed with attendees eager to learn more about the site, and to visit with the famous FinditParts Girls, the company’s goodwill ambassadors.

“We hoped for a positive response, but what we experienced at HDAW exceeded even our expectations,” Seewack said. “It really felt like we were the hit of the show! We are energized about building on this momentum, and making the FinditParts site even more helpful to our customers in the years to come. Since our launch, buyers and sellers from more than 150 countries have listed or sold parts with us, and we expect 2010 to be a very exciting year.”

About FinditParts

FinditParts.com is an online marketplace for buying and selling heavy, medium and light duty truck parts. Founded by a team of heavy-duty parts specialists with more than 30 years of experience in aftermarket distribution and sourcing, the site serves as both a means to bring buyers and sellers together and a one-stop information source on the replacement parts business. For more information, visit www.finditparts.com.

Belle Tire Auto Glass hosted a third party Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) validation on Monday, January 18, 2010 and was found to be 100% compliant with the standard.

Allen Park, Mich. (PRWEB) January 26, 2010 — Belle Tire Auto Glass hosted a third party Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) validation on Monday, January 18, 2010 and was found to be 100% compliant with the standard. This crowning achievement comes as the automotive glass division recently celebrated its second anniversary.

In announcing the validation result, John Cox, of Belle Tire Auto Glass stated, “Proving compliance with the safety standard through a third party validation firm is the highest substantiation of quality available to our industry. We are pleased to earn this distinction given our dedication and efforts to delivering windshields to our customers that meet all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. This is testament to our principles, ideals and more importantly, our people who perform the installations.”

AGRSS is a voluntary standard for the automotive glass replacement industry and is centered on the principles of delivering quality windshield replacements to the consumer. This is important given the windshield’s role in providing occupant protection in case of crashes or rollovers. Further, the automotive glass replacement industry is an unregulated industry with numerous documented incidents of occupant injury and fatalities due to negligence on the replacement company’s part.

Belle Tire embraced the concept of AGRSS since launching automotive glass replacement in 2007. Belle Tire recognized auto glass retailers have a moral obligation to vehicle safety particularly since consumers do not understand the importance of the windshield in automotive safety. Further, Belle Tire understood there are other value added benefits to following the AGRSS standards including increasing customer satisfaction, consumer loyalty and increasing integrity throughout the automotive glass replacement industry.

Cox also stated that Belle Tire Auto Glass welcomed and embraced an actual audit when selected at random by AGRSS. Cox added “It gave us a chance to be recognized and rewarded for all of our efforts and commitment over the past two years. The bottom line is AGRSS is a measuring stick to differentiate companies that say they do it right versus those who can prove that they do it right. It is an honor to confirm we are amongst those companies that can prove its quality.”

Belle Tire earned this distinction through the efforts and support of its employees, management team, vendors and other external resources to instill this business practice to its full potential. Belle Tire Auto Glass encourages all customers, Insurance companies and insurance personnel to learn about the importance of the AGRSS standard by visiting www.agrss.com and www.safewindshields.org.

About Belle Tire:

Allen Park, Mich.-based Belle Tire was founded in 1922 when it opened the first Belle Tire location in Detroit, Mich. Today, the company has expanded to 80 locations across Michigan and Ohio. Belle Tire offers discount tires and variety of car care needs, ranging from auto glass repair, auto glass replacement, brakes, alignments, batteries, shocks and struts, exhaust system repair, batteries, and oil changes. For more information about Belle Tire, visit http://www.belletire.com/.

Lo-Glow LLC have designed a unique product that will light up the vehicle badge using a halo-effect LED circuit board. This design is easy to install on the vehicle and uses the same materials as original automakers use to fasten it to the car, truck or SUV.

(PRWEB) January 25, 2010 — Lo-Glow LLC have designed a unique product that is attached to any vehicle, underneath the OEM badge. Spliced into the vehicle’s lighting system using quick and easy one-push connectors, Lo-Glow emits a halo of light from behind the vehicle’s badge. The user has the choice of red, blue or white light to distinguish their car from anything else on the road.

Lo-Glow is constructed of a professionally designed PCB containing the LED circuit. This PCB is married to a CNC machined acrylic that protects the components, enhances the halo-effect and and is waterproof. The Lo-Glow is attached to the vehicle using the same 3M adhesives used by the original automakers.

Each Lo-Glow design is custom made to fit a specific make and model of vehicle. Sizes also differ from front to rear on the same vehicle so it is important to carefully measure the vehicle’s badge before placing your order. Installation instructions can be found on our website: www.lo-glow.com.

Beaudry RV Company prepares for predicted turnaround in the economy.

Tucson, AZ (Vocus) January 22, 2010 — Despite an economically slow year in 2009, the RV industry is poised for a comeback this year. Sales doubled in November of 2009 over the previous year and are predicted to continue growing. A 27% increase in sales is projected by Richard Curtin, an RV analyst. Beaudry RV Company’s (http://www.beaudryrv.com/) employees head back to work after the holidays with a sense of renewed hope in the coming year.

RV shipments are expected to total 203,500 units in 2010, a 27.6% increase from the projected 2009 total, according to RV industry analyst and director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan Dr. Richard Curtin. Confidence in the RV industry is further emphasized by last year’s increase in new RV manufacturers. 15 new RV manufacturers started up operations last year.

Beaudry RV (http://rvsales.beaudryrv.com/inventory.asp) Company’s workforce of over 100 employees remains the largest staff of retail and service personnel in Arizona. “We weren’t immune to the recession last year,” says Thom Sylvester, CEO of Beaudry RV Company, “but we have faith in the memories and experiences RV recreation creates. We’re ready for a turnaround and look forward to a successful 2010.”

For more information on Beaudry RV Company or current trends in the industry contact Thom Sylvester at info@beaudryrv.com or by phone at: 520-239-5054. Or visit Beaudry RV Company online at www.BeaudryRv.com.

Contact: Thomas P. Sylvester

Company: Beaudry RV Company

www.BeaudryRv.com

Phone: 520-239-5054

Email: info (at) beaudryrv (dot) com